Dana Point Residents Could Win Super Bowl Tix By Donating Blood

DANA POINT, CA — In the hopes of alleviating what it says is the worst blood shortage in more than a decade, the American Red Cross announced Tuesday that anyone who donates blood in January will be entered into a raffle to win Super Bowl tickets and other prizes.

Anyone who donates in January, which is National Blood Donor Month, will automatically be entered to win two tickets to Super Bowl LVI at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the Red Cross said.

That’s just the start, however. Donors will also be entered into a raffle for entry to the official NFL Tailgate, tickets to the Super Bowl Experience, round-trip airfare to LA, three-night hotel accommodations (Feb. 11-14), and a $500 gift card for expenses.

Donors will also be automatically entered to win a “Big Game at Home” deluxe home-theater package, and a $500 e-gift card for game-day food.

The Red Cross partnered with the NFL on a lavish package to try to attract blood donations in the midst of a pandemic-driven blood shortage. The pandemic and its resulting blood drive cancellations and staffing limitations have contributed to a 10% decline in the number of people donating blood, and a 62% drop in blood drives at schools and colleges, the Red Cross said.

The organization also noted in a recent release that recent extreme winter weather all over the country has also contributed to what it is calling a “crisis.”

"Our inventory is at crisis levels," Raahima Shoaib Yazdani, a spokesperson for the American Red Cross' Los Angeles Region, said Tuesday. "Right now, doctors are being forced to decide which patients receive blood transfusions and who must wait."

The Red Cross said blood and platelet donations are needed to prevent further delays in medical treatments, and urged all donors, particularly those with type O blood, to donate.

"If the nation's blood supply does not stabilize soon, life-saving blood may not be available for some patients when it is needed," the Red Cross said in a joint statement with America's Blood Centers and the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies.

Appointments to give blood are available on the Red Cross Blood Donor App, by visiting redcrossblood.org, or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767.)

Here is a list of appointments near Dana Point: (see appointments by entering ZIP code here).

Michael Wittner and City News Service contributed to this article.